Members

Hampshire Wellbeing Services

Hampshire Wellbeing Services provides Dementia: advocacy, befriending, wellbeing advice and activities that are: socially, culturally and linguistically appropriate to improve access to main stream services for All, with a particular focus on those who are marginalised. In addition, we aim to educate stakeholders, including those in hard-to reach communities. HWS CIC increases awareness through a range of interventions on a range of health, social care and wellbeing matters for individuals, carers, families, friends and communities.
We develop partnerships in hard-to reach communities with individuals and groups and link them to: health, social care and wellbeing stakeholders to improve and plug gaps in Dementia services. Whatever someone’s race, religion, age, gender, physical ability or sexual orientation, we aim to: be accessible, offer high quality and give equal service standards regardless of the individual’s characteristics.

Updated:

8 March 2016

Location:

South East

Local Alliances:

Hampshire Dementia Action Alliance

1. Action Plan

1. The National Dementia Declaration lists seven outcomes that the DAA are seeking to achieve for people with dementia and their carers. How would you describe your organisation’s role in delivering better outcomes for people with dementia and their carers?

We aim to:

1. design services around the needs of dementia patients & their carers. Identify & preserve skills of the dementia patient has & promote positivity in retaining as much cognitive function, as appropriate.

2. let themhave personal choice, control or influence over decisions about them.

Impart knowledge and skills for the carer & Befriender to implement individualised support plans that identify the various innate needs of the dementia patient. Also, state appropriate actions in meeting their care requirement through: assessment, planning, interventions, sign-posting & evaluation processes.

3. offersupport that helps them live their life. Keeping them informed of their support plan & promoting & maintaining their self-esteem.

4. support them live in an enabling & supportive environment where they feel valued & understood. Develop: the dementia patient, their family, carers & friends and the wider community, to have the appropriate knowledge base, skills & attitude as an integral part in providing holistic care in the community.

5. enable them to have a sense of: belonging, being a valued part of family, community & civic life. Enable dementia patients to be managed in their own homes in order to prevent major disruption in their daily lives & preserving their emotional, psychological & spiritual stability.

2. What are the challenges to delivering these outcomes from the perspective of your organisation?

Mental illness is misunderstood, in many hard-to reach communities. This includes a grasp of dementia. Stigmas` still persists fuelled by: a lack of knowledge, social conditioning, religious beliefs, cultural norms and prejudicial practises.

Many people from hard-to reach communities engage more effectively with main stream services when supported in the community with trained people with kinship or similar backgrounds. Currently, there is a shortage of trained people with these characteristics.

Even when considerable resources are mobilised to engage hard-to-reach groups their participation is often very low. Specific funding sympathetic to the challenges of working with these communities is restricted.

Many health, social care and wellbeing stakeholders lack understanding of the different attitudes, cultural and religious perspectives and approaches to dementia held by the hard-to reach .

There is a lack of local evidence and information about hard-to reach people and dementia.

Member website

2. Actions

Improve the Skills of the Dementia Care Workforce

Improve the skills of the dementia care workforce by developing and delivering high quality education programmes for staff across a range of dementia care settings and through the use of our approved trainer scheme.

Status:

Planning

Educate health, social care, wellbeing practitioners and other agencies about: different attitudes, diverse perspectives and approaches to dementia

Through education programmes and workshops create or improve awareness amongst health and social care practitioners, of the needs of people with dementia with diverse backgrounds

Status:

Planning

Educate people with diverse backgrounds about dementia

Through a range of learning interventions, information format and media, educate people with diverse backgrounds about dementia.

Status:

Planning

Educate Micro and SMEs businesses owners and their staff about dementia